by Kia
A blind man could see that I was head over hills for this woman. All I needed was another shot. Diamond wasn’t the weak and naïve girl that I thought she was.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“Sure. You don’t have to ask me that, you bought this place,” she said as she stood to the side and let me in.
“Thanks.” I went and sat over on the couch.
“Want a drink?” she asked.
“Yes, please.” I had been drinking more than usual.
“We have Absolute,” she said, grabbing a glass.
“That’s fine. Give it to me straight.” I laid back on the couch and threw my hands over my face.
“Wanna talk about it?” Red asked as she sat next to me and handed me the drink.
“I can’t figure her out.”
“That’s just Diamond. You love her?” she asked.
“I really think I do, Red. I’m fucking in love and I’m caught up in it. It’s all I can think about.”
“In the beginning, you made her feel unwanted, Gee. Can you blame her for the way she’s being rebellious?”
“I understand that, but I never led her on. I told her how I felt from the jump. It’s just that… I don’t feel like that anymore.”
“And now you expect her to drop everything she has going on just because you love her now?”
“Drop everything? What else does she have going on?” I asked as I threw back the whole small glass of vodka.
“See, you’re missing the whole point.”
“But where is she? Diamond doesn’t even have friends.”
“She does.”
“Since when?” I asked. Just then Rena walked into the living room. “And she didn’t take Rena? What the fuck? Who’s she with?” I asked.
“She has a friend,” Red said as she picked Rena up and kissed her.
“And who is this friend?”
“I don’t know, Gee.” She laughed.
I wasn’t laughing. I was dead serious. “It’s not funny. Man, who is she seeing?”
“If I tell you, you gotta promise you ain’t gonna trip.”
“Tripping is a trait of a woman. I might be hurt, but I will not trip out.”
“Okay, she’s seeing some young nigga, and I don’t like him. I’m telling you, Gee, this kid is a disaster waiting to happen.”
“What’s his name?”
“Neek or some shit like that.”
“What’s his real name? I can look him up in the system or anywhere.”
“Oh, I don’t know. All I know is they call him Neek.”
“Damn, I need a real name. If this is who she’s been spending time with, I need to make sure he’s not some idiot out here.”
“Oh, I don’t know need a data base to tell me he’s an idiot.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as Rena came over to me and pulled on my ears. I then kissed her on the cheek.
She must have seen the look of distress on my face and thought something was wrong. This was my way of assuring her that everything was fine. Diamond had taught me that.
“We were chilling over there last night and he got robbed.”
“By who?”
“By his own brother.”
“And she’s back over there chilling with him? Where? I’m about to go and pick her up.”
“I can’t tell you all that now. I told you enough. Whenever she calls you, ask her can she meet up with you and talk. Or wait ‘til y’all next session.”
“I’m tired of waiting until a session to see her. We talk there, but after we leave, it’s nothing personal. I can’t take it anymore.”
“Tell her.”
“I tried,” I admitted.
“See, with Diamond, you have to make her understand. Gain her trust back.”
“How, Red? Since you have all the answers.”
She laughed. “If it’s meant to be, she will be back. But first, control your bitch.”
“Who?”
“You know who.”
“Kasha?”
“Yes, Kasha.”
“What she do now?” I asked as I prepared to get pissed. The look on her face told me that she wasn’t supposed to tell me that part. But I pressed the issue. “Red…”
“Just keep a close eye on her.”
“Yeah, I am.” I refused to tell her about Kasha following me because that would call for gossiping, and I was a man.
We talked for a while, and I decided to go home and tell Kasha that she had to leave. How could I even think to get Diamond back and I still had Kasha there? Yazz and I had talked. and it was no need for her presence anymore.
Chapter Thirty
Diamond
“I don’t know, I just love being around you,” Neek said as he laid back and smoked a blunt.
“But why?” I asked.
We were talking about us and what was next. I definitely wasn’t ready to be with him, but I was ready to start spending more time with him. The more we were together, the more I liked him. I loved the way he actually called me and made it a point to see me every day.
“Is that everything?” Emo asked as he walked in with a box.
It hadn’t even been a whole day, and Emo had already moved from his building to Neek’s building. Just like his brothers, he wasted no time.
“Yeah, I brought the last of it when I came in,” Neek said.
Neek had his own place, but hustled so much that he was never home. Emo’s spot was like the hang out spot, though. Bitches loved him, and at night, it looked like a damn hoe house now that Gatha was gone.
“I’ght, come on, bro,” Emo said as he looked behind him.
I almost died when Yazz walked through the door with a box in his hand. He hadn’t looked up yet because the box was in his hand and it was blocking his view.
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath. I knew this day would eventually come. Just didn’t know it would come this fast.
“Yazz, you met my nigga Neek before, but I don’t think you’ve met Diamond. That’s his girl,” Emo said in a joking way, but wasn’t shit funny. I wasn’t Neek’s girl.
“Diamond?” Yazz asked.
“Yeah, that’s her name,” Emo said.
“Can I talk to you?” Yazz asked me.
“Umm… I… but—”
“Now, Diamond,” Yazz said.
Emo and Neek were looking like confused puppets. I picked my purse up and went outside in the hallway.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m chilling.”
“Don’t play dumb. What are you doing here? Where is my brother?” he looked at me and then pulled out his phone.
“Are you calling him?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What? No!”
“Gee, where are you?” he asked, putting Gee on speaker.
“Just left Diamond’s house.”
“Was she there?” Yazz asked. I rolled my eyes and pumped my bottom lip out.
“No. Why? What’s up?”
“Yazz, please don’t. I can explain,” I whispered.
“Yazz,” Gee said, trying to get Yazz’s attention.
“Yeah. I’ll call you back,” Yazz said before hanging up.
“Thank you.”
“Explain…”
“Gee and I aren’t like you and Red, okay? Things are different. How you gonna call him when he has Kasha at home? Did I mention that she tried to kill me the other day?” I asked. I was rambling all over the place.
“Ay, bro!” Emo yelled from the inside.
“No hard feelings, but I have to tell my brother. I mean… you’re pregnant with his child.”
“I understand,” I said as I put my head down.
“I’ll see you later,” he said as he walked back inside.
I was so disappointed and embarrassed that I didn’t even stay. I left and went home.
Chapter Thirty-One
Red
“You what?!”
Diamond yelled at me the minute I told her what Gee and I talked about.
“What? He was so sad, Diamond. Maybe you should call him,” I said. She was freaking out.
“Was he mad about Neek?”
“Honestly, no. I kinda think he already knew that you were dating someone. Or called yourself dating someone.”
“Damn, that’s right. I did tell him. So what all he say?”
“To be real, he just wanted to know if dude was a good guy. You know? If he was an asshole.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what the fuck did you tell him, bitch?” she asked.
“I told him that you were in over your head, because you are.”
“And tell me why I just saw Yazz?”
“When?” I asked.
“Right before I caught an Uber here. That’s the whole reason I’m home so early. Fuck, today isn’t my day,” she said as she paced back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room.
“And what did he say?” I asked as I took a sip of my water.
“He just wanted to know if Gee knew anything about me and Neek. I told him no, but shit, obviously he does. Thanks to yo’ ass.”
“I could see if he was mad and was threatening not to go through with the marriage, but the nigga was good. I mean… he literally wanted to make sure you wasn’t fucking with a nigga that would put you in harm’s way.”
“Whatever.”
“Why won’t you just talk to him, Diamond?”
She stopped pacing and walked over to me. “His… bitch… tried… to… kill… me,” she said while clapping her hands like I didn’t understand.
“Okay, and that’s why y’all need to talk. But don’t tell him about Kasha trying to kill you. Yazz said he’s going to handle it. He doesn’t want Gee to know.”
“Why? Gee already knows everything, from what you told me Yazz told you,” she said.
Yazz and I were best friends. He literally told me everything. He even told me about the talk that he and Gee had about Kasha. The only thing Gee didn’t know was that Yazz killed Kafue thinking it was Kasha. He had no idea that Yazz would be the one who murdered Kasha when she came up dead. But fuck that bitch. She needed to be dead.
“Yeah, but Yazz has unfinished business with Kasha, and you nor I need to get between that. So please keep ya fucking mouth shut,” I said with a dramatic fake grin.
“Whatever. I’ma just call him,” she said as she walked back to her room.
I pulled out my phone to call Yazz, but he was already calling me. “Hello?” I answered.
“Did Diamond make it?” he asked off the rip.
“Yes, she did.”
“Okay, what are you doing?”
“At the house. Why?”
“I left a bag at my home. Can you go and get it for me and bring it to Emo’s house? I’ll send the address to give to the cab driver.
“Okay, no problem.” We hung up the phone.
I went to tell Diamond that I had to make a run, put my clothes on, and got on the road. Living by a main road was great because taxis were never hard to find. One had passed me by the first time, but the second time, I was spotted. I got inside and told him where I wanted to go and leaned back.
As we neared his place, I got a call again from Yazz. “Yes, baby?” I answered.
“Where are you?”
“I’m pulling up. What color is the bag?”
“It’s a regular duffle bag. It should be on my bed,” he said as I paid the driver and got out the car.
“Okay, stay on the phone,” I said as I went inside and got on the elevator.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said as the elevator let me off on his floor.
“You’d be lost, confused, and a junkie,” I joked.
“You laughing, but maybe you’re right,” he said. I pulled out my key and opened the door.
“On your bed?” I asked as I entered and shut the door behind me.
“Yeah, is it there?”
I walked to the back but didn’t see it. “You sure it’s on the bed?”
“Yeah, that’s where I left it. Look under the bed,” he said. I bent down and looked under but saw nothing.
“It’s not there, baby.”
“Look in the bathroom then. It might be there.”
I opened the door to the bathroom and got the shock of my life. “Oh my G…”
“What, baby? What’s wrong?”
“I thought you sent Frizzy home?” I asked.
“I did. She left a few days ago. What happened?”
“What did you do?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked.
Now he was worried. I could tell by the way his voice raised and the tremble in it.
“Baby, you need to get back here.”
“What? Why? Dammit, Red, what the fuck are you talking about?!”
“She’s dead! Someone killed her!”
“What? That’s impossible. I made her leave when I got you back.”
“It’s not fucking impossible, Yazz! I’m fucking looking at her and your drugs right now!” I yelled in frustration. I’d seen many pictures of her, and knew a dead person when I saw one.
“Calm down. Just calm down. How do you know she’s dead? I mean… how do you know she was killed?”
“It’s a fucking bullet through her head and she’s slumped over on the tub.”
“Don’t move, I’m on my way. Okay, baby?”
“Okay,” I said as I hung up and walked over to her so that I could feel her pulse. She was gone.
“Who did this to you?” I asked as I looked into her eyes, which were rolled to the back of her head. Of course I knew she wouldn’t answer, but that was a serious question.
Who did this to her?
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gee
“What do you mean you want me to leave?” Kasha asked as she stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. Soon as I left Red, I came back and told Kasha that she needed to be gone. I knew she wouldn’t leave without a fight, but damn, she was irking me right now.
“You and I had a good run, but it’s time for us to move on,” I said.
“You told me to be honest, and now you’re trying to leave me?”
“It has nothing to do with what we talked about. I was honestly thinking about leaving way before that. This is three years past due,” I said as I walked around her to the kitchen.
She followed me with her hands wrapped around my waist. I gently moved it away.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked me.
“What do you mean?”
“Without you… what am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, Kasha. Do what you’ve been doing.”
“It’s because of Yazz, right? He ran his fucking mouth about me, and now you don’t want me anymore. I’ll show him,” she said as she stormed out.
After putting my shirt on, I tried to run behind her but she was gone.
“Fuck!” I yelled as I grabbed my keys and made my way to Yazz’s home.
This was a whole new Kasha, and I didn’t know what she was planning to do. I tried calling her phone over and over, but got no answer. This made me speed faster. Shit went zero to one hundred that fast.
Finally, I made it to Yazz’s place. I even parked crooked, trying to get inside his building before Kasha or him did some crazy shit. While on the elevator, I pressed his floor number a million times until I landed on it. I was glad I had my own key.
“Yazz!” I yelled as I entered his place and shut the door behind me. “Kasha!” I called but didn’t see either of them. I saw someone I least expected to see, as a matter of fact.
“Just in time for the light show,” Frizzy said as I walked into the bathroom.
She was in the tub with cocaine all around her like it was bath water. Residue was all around her nose.
“Frizzy, what are you doing?” I asked as I neared her. She was
high out of her mind.
“Did you know that Yazz has a baby on the way? I bet you do.”
“Come on, let’s get you to a hospital,” I said as I grabbed a towel to cover her naked body.
“It’s everywhere,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Cocaine is everywhere; in my nose, pussy, ass and mouth. It’s everywhere,” she laughed like a lunatic.
“Come on,” I said as I grabbed her arm to pull her out.
She jerked back and pulled a gun from under the cocaine. “I should kill you.”
“Whoa, it’s not that serious. Let me get you help, Frizzy, please. Don’t do something that you might regret,” I asked with her gun pointed at me.
“Like what? Kill you?”
“I’m not worried about you killing me, Frizzy. I just want you out of that tub right now. Please…”
“For what? So Yazz can come lie about Mocha.”
“Mocha?” I asked.
“You know her as Red. The bitch.”
I didn’t like the way she was swinging that gun around.
“Get out,” I said, reaching for the gun.
She jerked back again and looked at me with deranged eyes.
“I want to… hurt him,” she cried as she caught her breath.
“Well hurt him another way. This is not the way.”
“He keeps me in Haiti while he has another life here with the bitch.”
“Frizzy, get the fuck out of the tub!”
“No! It’s over. I can’t do this,” she yelled back.
This is the exact reason why he didn’t let her move here. Frizzy was a damned lunatic.
“Give me the gun,” I said as I tried to snatch it away. We weren’t going anywhere with this conversation.
“Se pou Bondye gen pitye pou nanm mwen.” She began to speak Haitian creole, asking God to have mercy on her soul. Then she pointed the gun at her head.
“Noooo!” I yelled
Pop!
“Frizzy,” I said as I grabbed her face and watched blood leak from the hole in her forehead. The gun dropped inside the cocaine powder as blood began to leak onto it too.
I thought about calling the police or an ambulance, but this would go terribly wrong. It was drugs in the tub and they were already looking for a reason to arrest us. Yazz crossed my mind but I couldn’t call him either. He would think I killed her and would never forgive me. So I left.